Waterville, Nova Scotia, (January 17, 2013) –Michelin North America reinforced its commitment to the province of Nova Scotia today by announcing a $73 million(CDN) project investment at its Waterville truck tire plant. Michelin anticipates the investment will create approximately 50 new jobs in the Annapolis Valley.

“Today’s announcement shows once again that Michelin believes in both the province of Nova Scotia and our highly skilled employees,” said Mr. Dana LeBlanc, president, Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. ”The demand is growing in North America for our wide based tire products like the MICHELIN ® X One®, and this manufacturing investment at Waterville will help us meet that demand.”

“Companies like Michelin have demonstrated that Nova Scotians, and particularly the workers and industries in rural Nova Scotia, can be among the world’s best in quality and productivity,” said Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter. “This investment will help Michelin create an anticipated 50 new, high-value jobs in rural Nova Scotia.”

LeBlanc said, “We appreciate our long-standing partnership with the provincial government and we are certainly proud of our over 40-year history of manufacturing in this province. This investment is even more special, as Waterville just celebrated 30-years of manufacturing last year.”

The Michelin Waterville Plant will make capital investments in equipment improvements and increased production capacity over the next four to five years. The project will include the installation of new technologies in all aspects of the manufacturing process, supporting the success and continued growth of wide based tire products like the MICHELIN ® X One® for commercial trucking in North America. In addition, the project will include a 3,000 sq. metre assembly building expansion. Hiring for positions will be ongoing as the project develops.

About Michelin Waterville:

Opened in 1982, Michelin Waterville manufactures radial truck and off the road (OTR) and heavy-duty earthmover tires. During Waterville’s last significant expansion period from 2005-2007, Michelin invested $92 Million to begin production of the revolutionary MICHELIN ® X One® wide single truck tires in Waterville for the North American marketplace. Michelin Waterville celebrated the production of its 30 millionth tire in October 2010, which coincidentally was a MICHELIN ® X One® tire.

Dedicated to the improvement of sustainable mobility, Michelin designs, manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks and motorcycles. The company has earned a long-standing reputation for building innovative premium tires. In addition to tires, the company also publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America (www.michelinman.com) employs about 22,700 and operates 19 major manufacturing plants.